That’ll Do, Sully, That’ll Do

Dec. 13, 2018

00:34

All eyes were on the yellow Labrador retriever keeping watch over the flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush following his death Nov. 30. The bittersweet image of Sully H.W. Bush lying beside his commander in chief was viewed by millions of people around the world.

Bush had suffered from a form of Parkinson’s disease, and Sully was with him until the end.

Keeping Watch

The now-famous photo of Sully H.W. Bush keeping watch over the casket of former President George H.W. Bush in Houston, Dec. 2, 2018.

Sully was trained through a program funded in part by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Wounded Warrior Service Dog Program. Therapeutic service dogs trained through programs such as this one provide critical support for wounded, injured and ill veterans and troops seeking to lead more independent lives.

Sully Serves

Sully, a Labrador retriever who served as the service dog for President George H. W. Bush, lies near the former president’s casket in the Capitol Building Rotunda in Washington, Dec. 4, 2018. Military and civilian personnel assigned to Joint Task Force Capital Region provided ceremonial and civil affairs support during Bush's state funeral.

Already famous in his own right — his Instagram account, @sullyhwbush, has more than 260,000 followers — Sully will go on to join the therapeutic dog team at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, after the holidays, where he will provide stress relief and comfort to service members going through physical and occupational therapy.

Sully at Andrews

Sully, President George H.W. Bush's service dog, waits with his handler at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Dec. 3, 2018. He traveled to the base before attending Bush's state funeral in Washington.